Your Brilliant Baby in Week 22: Knowing Which Objects Move Themselves

But why would babies care about which objects can move on their own and which need a shove? Well, once infants determine how objects versus people move, they're not surprised or caught off-guard when they see a new movement for the first time: Immediately, they can place the item in an animate or inanimate category. Once they "get it," they're better able to predict movements and, therefore, more competent to organize and mange the world in which they live.

Soon your child will even learn which toys need batteries to move, which need to be wound up, and which require pushing instead of pulling. He'll see that birds fly on their own because they're made of biological components but that airplanes need engines. No doubt your child is fascinated by unusual motion—watching and making it—as he grows.

Your Week 22 Toolbox

Related skills and topics this week include …

• What's happening in Baby's sixth month?
• Use our Development Tracker to check off your child's 4-7 month milestones.
• Here's what our pediatrician says you might be worried about this month.